Fading Illusions
by MysticSparklez
Summary: “No,” he finally manages to utter, adjusting his monocle. “I certainly did not foresee this.” He pours himself a goblet of wine, a frown spreading upon his face. “This changes things.” [KxT]
1. Prologue

**A/N:** See? This is what happens when two crazy fan fic writers join forces! _StarSparklez_ and _Mystic Dawn_, combined into _**MysticSparklez**_ and ready for action!

**StarSparklez:** Our first chappie written together! _—eyes get watery—_ Isn't it wonderful, Mystics? _—wipes away a tear of joy—_ We hope that this little fruit of our combined efforts will please you dear fellow TRC fans. I know I enjoyed every minute of work on it. It's got much, much love put into it from both of us, that's for sure.

**Mystic Dawn:** Er... _—sweatdrop—_ It's only a prologue, StarSparklez...

**StarSparklez:** Yes, but it's pretty long... and I find it beautiful! Because it's ours! The little baby born from random collected figments of our imaginations...

**Mystic Dawn:** You're getting all mushy and over-sentimental again... Stop it! You're embarrassing me! Here, use a tissue to wipe that drippy nose.

**StarSparklez:** I can't help it, I'm so proud! _—sniff—_ Thanks for the tissue.

**Mystic Dawn:** No sweat, Star. Anyways... it's time for the disclaimers now, huh?

**StarSparklez:** Okay then!**—**_**DISCLAIMER**_**—**Well, as for TRC, I don't think I own it. I KNOW I don't own it! Mystics has yet to be convinced, though. She's planning a surprise takeover of CLAMP's headquarters. Shhh! Oops! Sorry, you heard nothing! _—does MIB flashy pen thingy—_

**Mystic Dawn:** I have no idea what you're talking about. I do NOT want to influence CLAMP (well, maybe a little, but that's besides the point _—wink—_). Enjoy the short prologue, brace yourselves for nice, big chapters following—

**StarSparklez:** Er... just how big are we talking about?

**Mystic Dawn:** Well... what do YOU think?

**StarSparklez:** Aha. I rest my case... (Goodbye forever, short, uncomplicated little chappies that made my authoress life easier...)

**Mystic Dawn:** You're just being a lazy bum again! _—closes eyes and frowns—_ So... where was I? Ah, yes. Don't forget to click that nice purple button at the end and drop us a review! Isn't it a pretty shade? Oh, and sorry about this big A/N. I think I'm influencing StarSparklez with my long and droning speeches! _—chuckles sheepishly—_ Okay, I'll be quiet now...

**StarSparklez:** So now, on with the story! This chapter here (prologue actually), and hopefully all of the next ones, will feature the lyrics of a favored song of late that somehow or other suits the scene! Or will try to fit in... Anyway, suggestions are always welcome, of course! And it's Mystic's turn first! To choose the song, I mean.

**Mystic Dawn:** Okay! You asked for it! _—rolls up sleeves—_ I'll choose one of _your_ latest favorites! _—evil chuckle—_

**StarSparklez & Mystic Dawn:** We hope you enjoy the story!

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**Fading Illusions**

**Prologue**

**By MysticSparklez**

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_**Linkin Park **_**— **_**Numb**_

_I'm tired of being what you want me to be  
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface  
Don't know what you're expecting of me  
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes  
(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)  
Every step that I take is another mistake to you  
(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)_

_Chorus:  
I've become so numb, I can't feel you there  
Become so tired, so much more aware  
I'm becoming this, all I want to do  
Is be more like me and be less like you_

_Can't you see that you're smothering me  
Holding too tightly, afraid to lose control  
'Cause everything that you thought I would be  
Has fallen apart right in front of you  
(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)  
Every step that I take is another mistake to you  
(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)  
And every second I waste is more than I can take_

_Chorus 1x_

_And I know  
I may end up failing, too  
But I know  
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you_

_Chorus 2x  
_

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Numerous layers of the finest silk flew around her petite form as she began to fall. She vainly tried to catch herself with her hands, but she could do nothing to soften the hard impact of her knees upon the cold floor. She clutched at her chest as she drew ragged breaths, beads of sweat forming upon her brow.

Princess Tomoyo had just collapsed, exhausted, and there had been no one to keep her from getting hurt. She could not blame anyone for not catching her even if she had wanted to. No one was there because no one could be.

Outside, a thunderous animal roar made her heart skip a few quickened beats. The gigantic beast's piercing cry indicated that it still suffered the resistance of her guards and ninja just outside the castle walls... grounds it should _not_ have invaded under any normal circumstances.

And despite knowing that the creature was just one of the many monsters that constantly attacked her people—another brutal being that meant her harm—upon hearing that shrill, wounded cry, she could not help but feel pity for its poor soul.

_After all, in the end, we living things are but helpless souls, trapped within bodies forced into existence, unable to choose or shape our own destinies, our own fates..._

A last earsplitting screech resonated inside the empty room, then a large tremor, followed by cries of victory. The beast had finally fallen before the warriors, defeated, its dead body crashing to the ground.

"Tomoyo-hime!" someone suddenly cried, dashing to her side.

Tomoyo weakly raised her head, recognizing the voice immediately.

Souma was hurriedly kneeling down beside her, her green eyes large in concern. "Tomoyo-hime-sama! Are you all right?"

Tomoyo let the female ninja help her sit upright and did not fake a smile as she asked, "Were all the monsters stopped?" Her violet eyes lingered upon the warrior's face.

Souma caught the underlying question and drew herself up slightly. "Although we defeated all the monsters, the casualties are many. Warriors and civilians alike were massacred in this attack. It is highly unusual that these monsters are assaulting us in groups. And..." She hesitated, biting down on her already bleeding lower lip. "And the Mikado..." She dared not finish her sentence for fear that the lump in her throat would reveal her discomfort, and so she let her words hang ominously between them.

It was enough for Tomoyo to wonder, _Onee-sama? _She gripped the ninja's forearm. "Is my sister all right, Souma?"

Souma bowed her head to avoid the princess' concerned gaze. "Amaterasu-sama was wounded a few hours ago," she replied heavily.

"By the monster? I thought that it hadn't managed to penetrate the castle's grounds!"

"It was nothing fatal, Your Highness," Souma assured her quickly. "But it was bad enough to keep her from fighting back. However... it wasn't _monsters_ that attacked her," she snarled bitterly. "It was assassins... other ninja. They sneaked inside her chambers while she was resting when the rest of us had headed towards the villages to push back the monsters' sudden attack. We managed to take care of them, but we were still too late to prevent her from getting wounded."

Tomoyo let out a small sigh of relief. Even her breaths sounded tired. She looked down at her hands as she murmured, "Too convenient."

"Pardon? Princess?"

"I said that it is much too convenient." She brushed back a few loose strands of her raven-black hair, looking up at her with worry. "We had always believed that these creatures were unintelligent beings, incapable of changing their instinctive attacks. But it appears that they've begun to develop some sort of strategies... how it is possible I cannot say. And it is too convenient that new assassins showed up while our backs were turned."

"What do you mean, Princess? Do you think... it could be some new kind of conspiracy? Against the Kingdom of Nihon? But... who could possibly manipulate the monsters this way? To make them behave so much more... ferociously... and intelligently?" Souma was still out-of-breath as she spoke, which made her sound even more perturbed.

"Clearly some enemy yet unknown to us," responded the young priestess.

Then, in a weak voice, she turned to her, saying, "Go and guard my sister, Souma. And give the order that all my servants tend to the other wounded. I want every person in need to find refuge and help, even if they have to pass the castle's walls." She managed to draw a shaky breath. "I'll be all right," she assured her. "However, I would like to rest now." She lurched to her feet and turned to walk to her nearby chamber.

"Wait! Hime-sama!"

Tomoyo turned her head to look back at the ninja again. "Yes, Souma?"

"Forgive my boldness, but I have something I must ask you, Princess." Her tone was rigidly formal, as usual, but uncharacteristically solemn.

"Go right ahead, Souma."

"It concerns your kekkai, Your Highness." She hesitated, moistening her lips nervously. "I know it should have retained the monsters from entering the lands under your protection." She drew a deep breath and plodded on, squaring her shoulders. "Could there be something troubling you that could have weakened your powers over your kekkai, Your Highness?"

The young princess' eyes widened for a split second, but before Souma could notice she was once again wearing her usual calm expression. However, she remained thoughtfully silent.

"Princess Tomoyo, are you unwell? Should I call for a healer...?"

"No, Souma, I will be fine. Thank you. Worry not."

Those last words had a finality to them that Souma knew to take as her cue to be dismissed. "I'll take my leave then," she said, bowing. "Hime-sama," she nodded as she straightened, turning to the balcony to disappear in the half-moon night.

Somehow, the exhausted Tomoyo found the strength to reach her chambers and shut the doors behind herself.

Her kekkai have indeed been gradually weakening. She had been aware of it ever since the very first time her magic barriers had been breached, seven months ago. But she was not exactly sure of the reason behind their waning. She had a faint suspicion, but it was a possibility she did not dare acknowledge. No good would come out of entertaining such thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, she let herself slump against the wall, her sore limbs slowly crumpling to the floor against her soft robes.

_It cannot go on like this. I cannot continue trying to protect when I lack strength myself. But what kind of inner conflict is this, consuming my powers from within me? Making me feel so unstable?_

Tomoyo sighed and closed her eyes. _Oh, Suwa-hime, just how many similar hardships must you have had to go through?_

Being this worn out, she couldn't even summon enough strength to drag herself to her futon, and so, she let her head finally fall to the wooden floor, fainting from exhaustion.

_Maybe I should allow myself to call for help, _were her last thoughts before total darkness overtook her mind.

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And somewhere, worlds and eons away, Kurogane suddenly flinched violently.

Fay and Mokona were teasing him again (a common enough routine in their otherwise rather monotonous lives of dimension traveling), and, as usual, Kurogane was chasing them around with his sword, spewing curses and threats in an attempt to be menacing enough for them to leave him alone... until he had come to a sudden stop, dropping his sword with a clatter to the ground.

This abrupt change in behavior was enough to make the hysterically-giggling pair stop running. Fay turned around, albeit a little hesitantly. "Kuro-sama?" he teased lightly in a singsong voice, not expecting what he was going to see when he faced his companion.

Mokona's head protruded from the wizard's furry collar, his long rabbit-like ears twitching in confusion.

Instead of grating out some sort of comeback, Kurogane winced audibly, one of his hands clenching into a fist against his chest.

"Kurogane? What's wrong?" the blond magician asked him again more firmly, and with an actual note of concern in his voice.

Kurogane did not reply immediately. He was now doubled-over, his teeth gnashing together as he drew in one sharp breath, his hand still clenched against his heart.

"Puu! What's wrong with Kuro-rin's heart?" Mokona leaped down from his perch and grabbed at the front of Kurogane's shirt to look up at his face. "Why does it hurt?"

Fay edged closer and laid a concerned hand upon the ninja's shoulder, but Kurogane hardly seemed to take note of this gesture as his unfocused gaze strayed to stare at the empty space before him, a distant expression on his thoughtful face.

Fay's brow knitted in momentary worry. This was highly unusual behavior, especially from Kurogane.

After several more moments of silence, Kurogane finally answered both of their questions. However, it was not with one of his usual scathing comments, telling them to either shut the hell up, get lost, or mind their own damn business. He didn't even reply with a stubborn 'nothing' as they would have expected from him.

Instead, with a confused frown spreading upon his face, he muttered softly, "I don't know."

Mokona and Fay exchanged worried looks as Kurogane straightened, his eyes drifting towards the far-off horizon. No more words were exchanged as the silence was drawn out, none of them daring to break it.

The sun was lazily descending behind the snow-cropped mountains, the sky's darkness becoming even more pronounced as its weak rays cast faint reddish shades that tinged the purple clouds. A light breeze tickled Kurogane's cheeks as his eyes lifted to the sky, gazing at the moon that had already begun to appear. The whole setting seemed serene and peaceful, but not even such splendor was enough to settle his turbulent thoughts.

_Well_, thought Fay as he watched his dark traveling companion gazing at the open infinity before them, _at least we'll find something interesting to tell Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan when they return with the firewood._

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**To Be Continued**

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**A/N: **End of prologue. Will be continued in Chapter 1!

**StarSparklez: **_—bursts into a fit of motherly cries—_ Bwahaho! This was beautiful! Ahahow! He was looking at the moon! _—wets her kerchief further—_

**Mystic Dawn:** Girl, I really think you're overdoing it, maybe just a little... _—rolls eyes—_ Okay, so please let us know what you think of this chapter, readers! And thanks for coming this far! And don't forget to R&R!

**StarSparklez: **Feel free to send flames too! I'll reply to them!

**Mystic Dawn:** What? You will?

**StarSparklez: **_—nods—_ With darling Fay at my side here, there's nothing I cannot do! _—drags Fay out and hugs him jealously—_ I luv him!

**Mystic Dawn:** Nice display of affection, Fay really is a pretty nice person. Unlike some I can name...

**Kurogane:** WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!

**Mystic Dawn: **_—sideglances at him, sighing—_ Yes, Kuro-chan, what is it?

**Kurogane:**_ —still yelling—_ It's Kurogane! And why the hell does this make me look like a weak fool! I wouldn't drop my sword for anything!

**Mystic Dawn: **Well, in this particular circumstance, you _do_ drop it. We say so and there's nothing you can do about it because, we are the authoresses!

**Kurogane:** What the—? I'm going to—!

**Mystic Dawn: **Oh, be quiet.

**StarSparklez: **Oh, yes, do hush, dear Kuro-pii. _—cuddles Fay more—_ You don't want us to embarrass you more next chapter, now, do you?

**Kurogane:** ...The hell?

**Mystic Dawn: **_—sly tone—_ Now, now, we can't spoil it! It'd be so unfair to the readers! _—grins evilly—_

**Kurogane:** Just... what... are you mad women planning...?

—_Mystic Dawn and StarSparklez exchange 'LOOKS' and grin in a not-so-reassuring way—_

**Fay:** You girls are planning to do some big things with Kuro-tako here, aren't you? _—as cheerfully as always—_

**StarSparklez: **Why, yesh, yesh!

**Mystic Dawn: **Of course we are! Or else this wouldn't be called fan fiction!

**Kurogane:**_ —points at Fay—_ Why don't you torture him instead and give me a freaking break?

**StarSparklez: **_—gasps and hugs Fay protectively—_ NO WAY!

**Kurogane:** And why not?!

**Mystic Dawn: **We think CLAMP has, and is currently doing enough of that to last poor Fay a whole year. Make that two. Or more. Anyway, he's having enough troubles already. It's YOU I'm interested in!

**StarSparklez: **Sniff! Bwouhouhou! CLAMP, WHAT DID YOU DO TO FAY?!

**Mystic Dawn: **Argh! You and your sudden crying fits, StarSparklez! Go get more tissues, the floor is getting slippery! Besides, Kurogane, you know you are simply loveable when you're suffering!

**Kurogane:** ...I hate you all.

**Mystic Dawn: **Of course you do, or else you wouldn't be yourself.

**Fay:** Could have fooled me!

**StarSparklez: **D-E-N-I-A-L! We all know you adore us! Oh, and by the way, dear readers, the Tomoyo's kekkai weakening thing was inspired by what happened with Princess Emeraude in Magic Knight Rayearth. Of course, there are variations to what happened and all.

**Mystic Dawn:**_—jumps up and down excitedly—_ That was my idea! Because we all know what ship we support, right? _—evil grin—_

**Fay:** Mystic Dawn is as brilliant as usual!

**Kurogane:** She's a sadistic witch! And... hey! JUST WHAT SHIP ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!

—_Mystic Dawn grabs a struggling Kurogane and drags him away—_

**StarSparklez:** R&R or we shall unleash Kuro-wan to cool off his killing rage on ya all!

**Fay:** Hyuu! Ja ne! Until next time! _—waves happily—_


	2. Chapter 1: Over The Hills And Far Away

**A/N:** You've dreamed of it happening, and now it's finally come to pass. MysticSparklez, ready with another chapter to blow you minds away! Any complaints? See CLAMP! They were the ones to teach us that union means _POWER!_ ;)

**StarSparklez: ** _—gasps—_ Oh, my God! No way! BBQ! The chapter's finally here! _—squee—_ XD

**Mystic Dawn:**_ —sweat-drops—_ Erhm... isn't this the sort of reaction the readers should be having?

**StarSparklez:** Well, I'm a surprised reader. XD And after this long hiatus, I doubt many fans will even remember our little treasured fic.

**Mystic Dawn:** I hate having to admit that you're probably right about that. School suuucks!

**StarSparklez:**_ —nods—_ I'll start the apologies. _—sighs—_ Dearest readers, wonderful reviewers, please forgive our delay, which is due to the world's current corrupted education system. We were too lazy—erhm, busy—to do anything much.

**Mystic Dawn:** We had one hell of a time finishing this chapter. When you've been working on something for so long it's impossible to feel satisfied with its content. But I'm sure you'll love the way this chapter turned out! _—chuckles evilly—_ Oh, and by the way, it was Star who inserted most of the crack in this chapter, so complaints go to her. All I added was a belch or two, haha! Compliments and blessings should be addressed to meee! _—smug—_

**StarSparklez:** Oh, stop it, Mystics, everyone loves crack! Yay for teamwork! _—sinister chuckle— _And yay for Kurogane torture!

**Kurogane:** What are you two bitches yapping about behind my back again?! What _else_ are you going to do to me?!

**Mystic Dawn:**_ —turns to StarSparklez—_ Star, were we talking about Kurogane?

**StarSparklez: **_—absolutely straight face— _I wasn't under the impression we were...

**Mystic Dawn: **Really, you jump too often to unjust conclusions, Kurogane!

**StarSparklez:** You're such a suspicious bishie! Look at my Fay, he trusts me! _—turns to him with a loving smile— _Isn't that right, my darling angsty-in-a-hot-way blue-eyed-and-blond favorite bishie?

**Fay:** Oh, I trust you, all right _—rubs hands together excitedly—_ Especially with keeping our dear Kuro-sama in character while being... teased in the most—ah, how should I put it?—considerate way. _—griiiiin— _We all know where this is going, don't we, Kuro-pii? You know, you really shouldn't be complaining—

**Kurogane:** QUIT ACTING LIKE YOU KNOW EVERYTHING, YOU BASTARD!

**Mystic Dawn:**Now, that won't do at all, Kurogane. You either use proper language or sew your damn mouth shut.

**Kurogane:** Look who's talking! Didn't you just—?!

—_Mystic Dawn promptly covers Kurogane's mouth with duct-tape— _

**Fay:**_ —blinks— _Oh, my! _—covers mouth with hands to keep from bursting into fits of laughter as his shoulders shake—_

**StarSparklez:**_—gasp— _You actually taped his mouth shut?!

**Kurogane:** Mbhmmmh!

**Mystic Dawn:** It was high time someone straightened him out. _—dusts hands off— _Thank goodness this chapter will shut him up anyway. What a waste of duct-tape!

**StarSparklez: **_—nasty chuckle—_ You readers are gonna love it! _—wink— _A relief from the dark setting we were forced to plunge you into in our prologue and an apology for taking this long to update. Thanks for your fidelity and wonderful reviews, everybody! They were very encouraging!

**Mystic Dawn:** Now, on to the story!

**StarSparklez:** We hope you'll enjoy it!

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**Fading Illusions**

**Chapter 1 — Over ****The**** Hills And Far Away**

**By ****MysticSparklez**

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_**Ace **__**Of**__** Base **_**— **_**Unspeakable**_

_I was unfeeling when you discovered me  
Gave me a reason to not deny my needs  
I was unwilling to give my love away  
__But__ you decided to give yours anyway _

_Bridge:  
Oh, I can't express  
__The__ feeling I possess  
For you, baby _

_Chorus:  
All I __wanna__ say to you  
Is __na__na__na__na__  
Unspeakable  
All I __wanna__ say to you  
Words can't describe it _

_All I __wanna__ say to you  
Is __na__na__na__na__  
Unspeakable  
All I __wanna__ say to you  
Words can't define  
Unspeakable _

_Never thought I needed someone to call my own  
But now that you've got me don't ever let me go  
You leave me __unwanting__, you silence every need  
Nothing is missing, no love is so complete _

_Bridge 1x _

_Chorus 1x _

_Never had this feeling that brings me to my knees  
You helped me recover what's been eluding me  
You're a sensation that makes my love run free  
And now, I'm speechless, it's all so clear to me... _

_Chorus __2x_

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The sun was beginning to cast lazy shadows over the pine-tree forest, submerging the world in a sea of color. Everything seemed different in the orange-red glow; more warm, more alive, more... _magical_. Nature's beauty always seemed to have that affect on Syaoran... especially whenever he was in close proximity to Sakura.

Yes, it seemed as if everything about the desert princess made her surroundings more colorful than normal. As if her aura encouraged blossoms to bloom sooner, as if her grace motivated the birds to chirps louder and clearer. Syaoran watched in fascination as she brushed back her long bangs and hooked them behind her ears, catching a glimpse of emerald-green eyes that could shine brighter than the sun.

The young adolescent sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy chestnut-colored hair. How on earth did he ever get himself into such a mess? How had an innocent little suggestion managed to change everything?

A few hours ago had found Syaoran in the midst of the rest of his companions. He had suggested that they ought to gather some firewood since they would be spending the night outdoors. Otherwise, there would be no way for them to ward off the cold or have a way to see when the sun would set. Fay, the blond wizard, had thought it an excellent idea, jovially adding that he would probably be able to cook up a decent supper for them, something that they had not had the chance to enjoy in a long time now. Mokona, the strange, magical white creature, had heartily agreed, chattering excitedly as it clambered into Sakura's lap, who had timidly offered to help them out. Kurogane, the dark warrior, had merely grunted his assessment.

Fay's smile had suddenly widened then, a sly look mirroring in his eyes. "I think Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun should go looking for firewood while the rest of us set up camp. That way, we can get everything ready twice as fast!"

Syaoran had looked up in surprise, whereas Kurogane had arched a perplexed eyebrow.

"What if there's trouble?" the ninja had demanded gruffly. "We don't even know what we'll find in this world."

"Syaoran-kun's more than capable of taking care of Sakura-chan," Fay had said brightly. "I really think it's a great idea we all pitch in and help somehow!"

Syaoran hadn't even been given the chance to protest (even if he had been planning to), not without hurting Sakura's feelings, and so, he had landed with having to gather firewood with her in the middle of a dark forest, just as the sun was setting and the temperature was beginning to drop.

Just the two of them.

Alone.

For the twelfth time since they had come to this new world, Syaoran sighed heavily and tried to shake thoughts of his princess out of his head. A valiant but vain attempt nonetheless.

"Can anyone help but not love Sakura-chan?" Fay had once said as they watched the princess talk to customers in the café they ran in Outo Country. "In any world we go to?"

Indeed, who could? Syaoran swallowed with difficulty, rubbing his hands over his tired eyes. He wasn't even trying to convince himself anymore that it wasn't the right thing to do, no matter how right it felt to him.

He thought he would be able to handle searching for her memory fragments at first. He thought he would be able to live with his own memories of their shared childhood, locked safely inside of his mind. But as Sakura gained more memories of empty chairs and invisible friends, he felt as if he were losing a part of himself each time. He needed to ask her, to make sure she was recovering her memories, but each retelling never ceased to remind him with a painful pang that he was losing her.

Perhaps he had already lost her.

"Syaoran-kun, do you think we've gathered enough firewood?" Sakura straightened with an armload of twigs and branches. "Why, Syaoran-kun, you've hardly gathered any wood at all!" she said, breaking him out of his reverie.

Syaoran looked down at the two branches he was clutching, one in each hand. He had been so immersed in his thoughts that he had hardly been paying attention to his surroundings. "I-I'm sorry..." he apologized sheepishly. "I was just..." He frowned when his eyes fell upon her armload of firewood. "Hime? How did you manage...? I mean, where did you find such good branches? Everything I found was too damp."

"Hoe?" she said, blinking in surprise. "Well, I—"

_Awoooooooooooooooo!_

Sakura squeaked in terror and dropped all of her wood, jumping to cling to Syaoran's arm.

Syaoran tensed at first, then realized that the howl had been distant enough for there to be no need to worry. He turned to her to tell her that it was safe and that there wasn't anything dangerous in the vicinity, but then he realized just how close they were, and his cheeks couldn't help but flush slightly.

Sakura seemed to realize this, too, as her face turned red in embarrassment. "Um... was... was that a wolf?" she questioned timidly.

He tried to smile reassuringly at her. "Don't worry. We're heading back now." He indicated the barely-discerned route trailing along behind them with the branch he was still holding in his free hand. "Camp's that way." Then, turning away as he slowly knelt to pick the dropped wood, he added somewhat dryly, "I think you've gathered more than enough firewood for the both of us." But the way his bangs covered his eyes kept Sakura from reading the exact meaning of the emotion in his voice.

They both stooped to gather the fallen branches, even though the wood was now damper than they would have liked. The silence that settled over them was different than before. It felt awkward, but not awkward enough to make them uncomfortable with the other's presence. Their hands brushed occasionally as the picked up the wood, but they neither flinched nor flushed at the touch. Just silence.

A breeze tickled Sakura's cheeks as she straightened, her auburn hair swirling around her face. "Let's go," she whispered with a small smile.

Syaoran nodded his agreement, and, without further incidents, they started back for camp.

Somewhere along the way, Sakura's arm found Syaoran's again.

——————————

"Syaoran-kun! Sakura-chan!" Fay waved at them eagerly from the other side of the clearing. "I see you've finally finished gathering the firewood," he said, nodding in approval.

"Yes, Fay-san," Sakura told him cheerfully. "I hope we've gotten enough for you to last the evening."

"Sure looks like it," he observed proudly. He then grinned hugely at the two adolescents. "I trust you two had no difficulties in searching for firewood?"

"No trouble at all," Sakura assured him. "Unless you count that wolf cry that sounded nearby," she added, smiling shyly at Syaoran.

Fay blinked in mock-surprise. "A wolf?" He turned to the shaggy-haired adolescent. "Syaoran-kun, I thought you were supposed to keep an eye on Sakura-chan! What's all this about a wolf?" Although his tone appeared stern, it was obvious by the wide smile that spread upon his face that he was only teasing the young adolescent.

"Er..." Syaoran's face immediately turned beet-red in embarrassment. "It's not what you think..."

"Peh!" Kurogane snorted, not even bothering to look up from his slouched position against a boulder. "Figures!"

"Wh-what?" he stuttered. "But... er... Kurogane-san..."

"Now, now, Kuro-tan, just because you're in a bad mood, doesn't mean you have to make Syaoran-kun feel any more guilty than he already does," Fay told him sagely. "I'm sure he's got enough on his mind without you adding your own problems to the bag!"

"Problems?!" Kurogane demanded huffily. "_What_ problems?!"

"Kyaaa!" Mokona squeaked, suddenly sticking its head out of Kurogane's collar. "Kuro-wanko's voice is too loud!"

"Hey! What the hell're you doing in my clothes again?!"

"Mokona just wanted to get warm! It's much too cold outside!" it sighed blissfully, snuggling deeper into the ninja's cloak.

"Get out of there right now if you know what's good for you!"

"Itai! Kuro-pii's pulling my ears again!"

Fay smiled hugely at their antics before turning back to Sakura, who hastened to explain that she hadn't meant for her mention of the wolf-cry to sound as if Syaoran had neglected taking care of her.

Fay raised his hand. "It's all right, Sakura-chan, I understand. I was only teasing." His smile widened. "How about you help me out with supper while Syaoran-kun starts the fire? It'll take quite some time before the fire gets big enough for us to cook anything, so we'd better get cracking!"

"Mokona wants to help, too!" the white creature tittered excitedly, burrowing out of Kurogane's clothes and landing safely on the snow.

"Sure," Fay grinned. "Then I guess that leaves Kuro-pon to get us some water!"

"Stop calling me that," Kurogane hissed.

Fay ignored him and produced two medium-sized buckets out of one of their packs. "Just fill these up with some water and we'll be able to start cooking!"

Kurogane shot him the dirtiest look he could muster before taking them and stomping off toward the nearby frozen stream. He had to make a hole in the ice by carving it out with his sword before he could draw water from it, which only enhanced his sour mood when he returned, forcing the buckets upon Syaoran before storming away again.

"What's wrong with Kurogane-san?" Syaoran asked the wizard anxiously as he emptied the water into the small pot Sakura had set up over the fire. "He looks more... well... not like himself."

"Funny you should mention that, Syaoran-kun," Fay mused while he paused from peeling a potato. "Something queer happened when you two had gone off for firewood." He proceeded to explain to the two adolescents that Kurogane's chest had hurt him for some unknown reason, and ever since then, he had been alternately swinging from mood to mood. "Reflective silence to outright vehemence and vice versa," he concluded. "It's like him, but _not_ like him at the same time, you know what I mean?"

"Maybe his chest hurt him because of too much strain...?" Sakura suggested tentatively.

"I don't think his moods would be swinging back and forth because of that," Syaoran disagreed. "Something must be troubling Kurogane-san."

"I know, I know!" Mokona suddenly interjected excitedly, jumping up and down and waving its little paws.

"Oh? You do?" Fay grinned hugely. "Then please do tell us, Mokona!"

"Kurogane's—!"

_"What?"_ demanded someone in a low growl.

"Kyaa! Big Doggy shouldn't scare Mokona like that!" the white creature tittered as it crawled onto Fay's shoulder for protection.

Kurogane shot him a glare that would make even the bravest falter.

"We weren't saying anything bad!" it chirped, burrowing into Fay's hood. "We were just talking!"

"I didn't ask!" Kurogane grated out from between clenched teeth. He suddenly thrust out his hand to Fay. "Here," he spat.

Mokona squeaked in terror and burrowed even deeper into the wizard's clothing.

Fay blinked in confusion. "Rabbits? Where on earth did you find them?"

"In a snare I set up a little while ago," he grumbled, thrusting the two dead animals upon him. "Make yourself useful and cook something decent for once." And without another word, he trudged away again, settling down against the boulder and lifting his gaze to the starlit sky.

They all exchanged perplexed looks with each other.

"Perhaps... we should leave him alone for a while?" Syaoran suggested.

"I think that would be best," Fay agreed.

——————————

"I am now officially stuffed," Fay sighed contentedly as he leaned back upon his arms. "That must've been the best rabbit stew I've ever managed to cook on such short notice."

"I never thought I'd find rabbits to be tasty," Syaoran admitted. "You're a great cook, Fay-san."

"Why, thank you, Syaoran-kun!"

"I feel sorry for the poor rabbits, though," Sakura said gloomily, picking at the remains of her meal. "It even made Moko-chan lose its appetite."

Mokona nodded its agreement and shuddered, burrowing deeper into the large parka Sakura was wearing (Fay had given it to her to ward off the night's chill). "Mokona still thinks that you guys shouldn't have eaten the—"

Kurogane's loud belch interrupted the white creature, causing it to start chittering angrily about how insensitive and mean he was toward those who were smaller than him.

"I liked it," he shrugged, picking at his teeth. "It was a nice change from the usual gruel we're forced to eat."

"Why, Kuro-sama, you think my food tastes like gruel?" Fay asked in mock-shock, his hand flying to his chest. "I'm hurt!"

Kurogane snorted derisively and lied down upon his back, his eyes lifting once more to the black night sky.

"Methinks Kuro-tan's mind is elsewhere," Fay said slyly, looking up at the star-strewn sky himself. "Wow, are the stars in this world bright or what?"

"I wonder if the stars look the same in every world," Sakura said, raising her face upward.

"I suppose they _could_ be the same, but have different positions in each world we go to," Syaoran mused, shading his eyes. "I don't recognize any constellations."

"You can tell constellations apart, Syaoran-kun?"

"Yeah. It's not that hard once you pinpoint the brighter ones."

"I could tell them apart in my world, too," Fay smiled. "I used to point them out to Chii all the time. She'd forget them the next night, of course, but it was always fun."

"I wish I could tell them apart, too," Sakura said wistfully. "I can never seem to remember them."

"Well, there're always other ways of discerning patterns in the stars, even without knowing the constellations," Syaoran offered.

"Really?" she asked eagerly. "How?"

Syaoran's brow furrowed. "Right... there." He pointed at an exceptionally bright star. "You see that? Imagine that's an eye. The rest of the stars clustered around it look like facial features. And if you follow the rest"—his finger made a long arc in the sky—"you'll see that it looks like a person."

"I see it!" she whispered breathlessly. "Wow, it looks like an artist!"

"An artist?" Mokona asked curiously, squinting at the stars to make out the shape.

"Yeah! Look at the things he's holding in his hands. It looks like he's painting something."

"Cool! I never thought of seeing shapes like that in the stars!" Fay grinned. "It's like cloud-watching!"

"Let's see if we can find other shapes!" Mokona twittered excitedly.

The four of them were soon immersed in their stargazing, occasionally shouting out a number of their findings, like, "That looks like a teddy bear!" or "That's someone reading a book!" or "That looks like a horse with wings!" or "Isn't that a manjuu?"

Kurogane didn't really pay much attention to them. He was more interested in gazing at the moon than at the stars with all the shapes they kept raving about. He thought so, at least, until he heard Sakura cry out, "Doesn't that one look like Tomoyo-chan's emblem?"

"Where?!" he demanded, sitting up so fast that he heard his neck crick.

"The one she called Kero-chan," Sakura replied, her finger still pointing at the sky as she looked at him quizzically.

A moment of shocked silence followed.

He sweat-dropped and grumbled, "Never mind," before lying back on the ground again.

"Um... speaking of Tomoyo-chan..." Sakura began tentatively. "I can't help but miss her sometimes. I really enjoyed her company in Piffle." She pursed her lips in speculation.

Indeed, her journey in Piffle had showed Sakura just how much she really missed having a female companion during their travels. She wasn't sure she remembered having a girl for a best friend in Clow, because thinking too hard about her missing memories always gave her a severe headache. So she settled for hoping she would would someday regain memories of such times, in some near world, far from here... Would she ever meet Tomoyo-chan again?

"I wonder how Tomoyo-hime is like," she continued, pondering out loud. "In Nihon, I mean. Is she at all like the Tomoyo-chan in Piffle, Kurogane-san?"

Kurogane stiffened at being addressed so suddenly and had half a mind not to say anything. But feeling Sakura's anticipating eyes upon him made him decide otherwise. He cleared his throat gruffly, saying, "Yeah... very much alike." He had sounded firm, but then he wavered, saying, "Or maybe not. But she... she did have an unnatural... fetish for ribbons and dresses." After a few more seconds of pondering, he added a bit grimly, "And an unmerciful teasing streak, too."

Fay smiled secretly at the pout that formed on Kurogane's face with that last comment.

Kurogane was tempted to add that he didn't remember her being so dynamic, as well. Seeing Tomoyo carrying a weapon had made him nervous for some reason, even if she hadn't been his Tomoyo. Like he wasn't really needed anymore. He tried not to think about it.

"I really hope I get to meet her someday. She sounds like so much fun!"

_Depends on how you look at it_, he thought silently, before raising his gaze once more to the pale, alabaster moon.

"Hey, look, it's me, Mokona!"

Kurogane shut his eyes, exhaling in exasperation.

——————————

"Are you sure it's in there?" Syaoran asked Mokona the next morning after they had struck camp.

"I can feel _something_ beyond," the little creature confirmed from his perch on Fay's shoulder. "Though it's very faint."

"How far away is it?" Sakura shaded her eyes and peered at the dense foliage.

"Well, we'll have to cross this forest to find out," Syaoran decided as he took the lead, the others trailing along behind him.

After walking along for quite some time now, it seemed that the further they went into the forest, the more tall and ominous the fir-trees became. There seemed to be something odd about them. Their branches did not sway in the wind, nor did they provide any birds or rodents with a nesting place. The oppressive silence seemed to close in on the travelers from all directions. They could no longer feel the wind's gentle probes, nor the sun's rays. It was as if the moment they had entered the forest, all sound had ceased. The only sound they could hear was the unmistakable crunch of the snow beneath their feet.

"Something's not right," Kurogane muttered under his breath, finally breaking the silence. "It's too quiet."

"Well, it's winter, isn't it?" Fay offered. "All the big animals are probably hibernating."

"Not all animals hibernate," he disagreed. "You can hear a bird or two, even in the wintertime."

"Maybe all animals hibernate during the winter in this world," Syaoran suggested.

"Then... how is it we heard a wolf last night?" Sakura asked tentatively.

"Wolves usually sleep during the daytime... don't they?" Syaoran turned to Fay and Kurogane for confirmation.

"Not _all _the time," Kurogane disagreed.

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic, Kuroi-san!" Fay giggled, airily waving his hand. "Of course they sleep during the daytime. You don't have to worry, Sakura-chan, dear."

"I'm just trying to be realistic!" he bristled.

"My, my, not even a good night's sleep did anything to sweeten his disposition," Fay observed in amazement. "I wonder what's making Kuro-tako act so disagreeable."

Mokona huddled closer to Fay's ear and whispered, "Mokona thinks Mokona knows what the problem is!"

"Oh?" Fay whispered back. "Do tell!"

"Mokona thinks Kurogane might be homesick or..." It lowered its voice to the lowest volume it could manage. "...lovesick!"

"You know, I think it could be both," Fay replied solemnly, before they both burst into peals of laughter.

Ninja were notorious for their well-developed senses, and Kurogane was no exception. He froze in his tracks and turned on them with a livid expression on his face. "What the hell did you just say?" he demanded in a dangerously low hiss.

"Uwaaa! Big Doggy's maaad!" Fay cowered in mock-terror, stifling his giggles with a gloved hand.

Kurogane's eyes flashed angrily. "All right! That does it!" he roared, drawing his sword. "I'm definitely going to kill you both this time!"

"Kyaaa!" Mokona squeaked. "The big monster wants to eat us!"

"Run for your lives!"

"I've had it with your stupid nicknames and your little secrets!" Kurogane sprinted after the blond wizard, Mokona squealing happily as it bounced around their feet.

"Kurogane-san! Fay-san!" Syaoran called after them. "We shouldn't get separated from each other...!"

Unfortunately, the two childish adults were already too far away to hear the wise adolescent's anxious calls.

"We have to go after them before we lose them, Syaoran-kun!"

He nodded. "I think they went this way."

——————————

"Hyuuu, hyuuu! Faster, Fay, faster!" Mokona urged him onward from his perch atop his head, clinging to his hair, as if it were a rider astride its noble steed. "Before the big black wolf with a sword catches up with us!"

Fay had only been running for a minute or two, Kurogane's curses not far behind, but he had begun to notice that the firs seemed to be thinning the further along he went. There was finally a break in the trees, the sudden sunlight painful to his eyes after the shadows of the forest, and he blindly stumbled into a large patch of bushes.

"Fay, stop!" Mokona shrieked, pulling hard at his blond tufts of hair, as if trying to rein in a horse. "It's a cliff, it's a cliff!"

Fay's feet skidded to a stop, the upper part of his body lurching forward dangerously over the steep ledge that the bushes had disguised. He waved his arms wildly in an effort to maintain his balance and managed to pull back the last second. He sighed in relief when he stopped teetering madly. "Phew... that was close, right, Mokona?"

"Good thing you listened to Mokona's advice," the white creature said, patting his shoulder.

Fay peered down cautiously. "It doesn't look like much of a fall," he observed. "I'd say it's only something like three or four meters to the ground..."

But then, he suddenly felt something very large and heavy slam into his back with astonishing force, sending him surging forward into thin air. The ground came up to meet him alarmingly fast, and before he knew it, he had fallen flat on his face, landing on something large and wet. He shook his head, sending water droplets everywhere. "Ugh... what a ride!" He straightened and looked around. It appeared that they had fallen into a small, shallow stream, which must have cushioned the fall. "Looks like we're all right, Mokona," he said brightly. "Good thing we had a soft landing!"

"Speak for yourself," something grumbled beneath him.

"Whoops! Sorry, Kuro-pon!" Fay chuckled heartily as he disentangled himself from the ninja's soggy cloak and smoothly straightened on the banks. "So you're the one who pushed me? That wasn't very nice, you know, Kuro-rin."

"I didn't push you," he growled. "I tripped on a damn tree root and fell into you."

"Ninja can lose their footing, too?"

"Hey, it's not my fault you were standing there gawking like an idiot! How was I supposed to know you were on the edge of a cliff?!"

Fay tried to stifle his laughter. "My, my, you sound like a very disagreeable wet dog. You look like one, too."

Kurogane refrained from replying with a scathing comment as he slowly got to his feet and climbed out of the stream, his wet clothes weighing him down slightly. He wiped the water streaming down his face with the back of his hand and removed his helmet, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to restore them to their original spikiness. He found himself wondering how he'd managed to end up beneath Fay when he'd been the first to fall, but he supposed it was just his bad luck. It had a bad habit of following him everywhere.

There was suddenly a large amount of splashing from the middle of the pool, distracting him from his thoughts.

_"__Heeeeelp__!"_ squealed a small voice. _"I can't __swiiiiim__!"_

"Oh, no!" Fay gasped. "Mokona's drowning!"

"Don't tell me that thing expects one of us to dive in and save him," Kurogane grumbled. "There's no way in hell I'm going to get wet again."

Fay smiled hugely. "Never fear, for Fay is here!" He pulled back his sleeves and bent his knees slightly, as if he were preparing to spring into the water, something he actually did a moment later. He dove smoothly below the surface, but not without managing to make a big splash, soaking Kurogane with water again.

"Hey! Watch it!" Kurogane wiped his face dry and tossed his helmet to the ground as he took hold of the end of his cloak. "That bastard did it on purpose," he hissed under his breath, wringing the excess water from his cloak. "I should've lopped his head off when I had the chance." He looked around and retrieved his sword, which was lying on the snow a few feet away. Thank goodness it hadn't fallen into the water.

His eyes scanned the clearing in disinterest, taking in his surroundings for the first time. The small stream, although shallow where they had landed, led toward a pool which was small in diameter, but deep. It appeared especially deep at the base of the waterfall, which, for some obscure reason or other, remained miraculously unfrozen, even in the heart of winter, as did the pool's waters. This piqued Kurogane's curiosity slightly as he took a few steps toward the waterfall to better examine it.

It wasn't what one would refer to as a large waterfall, but it was by no means small, either. The water came pouring down out of a hole several meters high in the side of the steep rock face, perfectly smoothed by the erosion of the water. But such smoothness seemed illogical, especially when it ran so from the one end of the clearing to the other. Kurogane ran a rough hand over the moist surface of the cliff, his fingers tingling slightly, as if he had felt something other than the smoothness of the rock.

This was a special place. It didn't take someone with a lot of brains to figure that out. He took a few steps back, the snow crisping beneath his boots, and looked up. The cliff continued to climb higher, its peak almost reaching the sky. Another geographically illogical feature. His eyes drifted toward the sides of the clearing, where more cliffs—actually, more like ledges—climbed, though none as large as the first. Unfortunately, they were tall enough to make it quite a difficult feat to either climb or descend them, and the fact that most of the sides had large tree roots entangled in the earth only proved and enhanced the difficulty. No wonder he had tripped. The damned roots were everywhere, growing in the most abnormal way.

He took a few steps to one of the dirt ledges, laying a hand upon a gnarled tree root. It seemed sturdy enough. But would it support someone's weight? He looked up at the numerous bushes perched on its top, something like an indicating border that the ground ended abruptly there. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. There was something about this clearing, something he felt he could almost understand, but it miserably eluded him.

Kurogane would have very likely moved on then had he not heard the bushes shuffling above his head. He barely managed to look up before he heard a girl shriek and stumble out into the open and lose her footing. His instincts immediately kicked in. He took a quick step forward and caught her before she could fall flat on her face, supporting her weight by gripping her forearms. Expecting it to be the princess (who was quite the klutz when she was sleepy), he had opened his mouth to reprimand her for her carelessness until his eyes actually fell upon the girl's face, causing him to inhale sharply.

_"__Tomoyo__?!" _he gasped, his eyes widening as he took in the familiar features of her face.

The raven-haired girl looked up at him in surprise, a flash of recognition flickering in her violet eyes as he felt her flinch in his hands. "Kurogane!" she gasped in a strangled voice.

And then, with no warning whatsoever, she suddenly threw her arms around his neck, pulling him off-balance in the process and causing him to land on his rump, as she glued her lips to his.

Kurogane stiffened as her fingers twined through his hair, causing a shiver to run down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold. Her lips were soft and warm upon his, kissing him with a familiarity that was positively unnerving. He was living out something he had never even dreamed possible, so, naturally, he had no idea how to react. He made no move to return the kiss, nor to pull away.

"I saved Mokona!" Fay exclaimed jubilantly at that point, resurfacing with the white creature held high above his head. His laughter, however, was cut short when his gaze fell upon the pair on the banks of the pool.

"Is Kurogane kissing a girl?!" Mokona twittered excitedly as he climbed down to perch on the wizard's shoulder.

Speech was lost upon Fay as he simply stood there, waist-deep in the cold water, blinking dazedly. He turned his head slowly and exchanged long looks with Mokona. They both then nodded simultaneously, took deep breaths, and dove into the water again.

"Kurogane-san? Fay-san? Mokona? Are you three all right?" Syaoran's voice echoed down from the ledge above. He started to climb down, carrying Sakura in his arms, but he missed his footing and ended up sliding the rest of the way down on his backside.

Sakura gasped and Syaoran's eyes widened when their gazes fell upon Kurogane a few feet away from them. Syaoran immediately turned beet-red as Sakura's cheeks flared crimson.

Their reactions were enough to convince Fay (who had just resurfaced with Mokona) that he wasn't hallucinating after all. "Mokona..." he whispered slowly, his face breaking into a wide smile, "Kuro-sama most certainly _is_ kissing a girl! And it's not just _any_ girl! Why, if I'm not mistaken, it's Tomoyo-chan!"

Mokona and Fay began snickering heartily at that point. Sakura and Syaoran were modestly trying to avoid looking at the kissing pair (and at each other) as they struggled to get to their feet. It wasn't easy the way their limbs had gotten entangled, however, bringing their faces closer than they would normally be. Syaoran flushed and stuttered an apology as he tried to untangle himself as best he could. Sakura blushed furiously as she scrambled to her feet, quickly covering her face with her hands.

And still, Kurogane remained frozen, helpless to do anything in his immobility.

——————————

A miniature waterfall crashes into a pool, its icy waters frothing around its base. A blond man with a small creature perched upon his shoulder stands waist-deep in the water, both giggling uncontrollably. Two adolescents embarrassedly avoid looking at another pair a few feet away, locked together in a tight embrace. Or rather, the black-haired girl had wrapped her arms around the taller man's neck so tightly that he had no means of escape as her lips explored his, even if he had wanted to.

Two people study the scene in the mirror. The image is sharp and true, revealing that its events are occurring at this very moment.

Xing Huo's lips curl into a small and enigmatic smile. "Interesting..." she offers. "Don't you agree, Fei Wang?"

Fei Wang Reed simply stares at the scene displayed in his mirror with his mouth hanging open unintelligibly, his expression unreadable.

"A bit of a surprise, isn't it?" she prompts, arching an eyebrow. "You hadn't predicted this."

"No," he finally manages to utter, adjusting his monocle. "I certainly did not foresee _this_." He pours himself a goblet of wine, a frown spreading upon his face. "This changes things."

She looks up at him expectantly. "What will you do now, Fei Wang?"

He sneers before taking a small sip of the red wine. "There is not much I _can_ do. Unless..." He falls silent as his eyes drift back to the mirror.

Xing Huo follows his gaze, waiting for him to speak again.

"Perhaps... there _is_ a way, after all," he muses, fingering the goblet thoughtfully.

Xing Huo says nothing more as her eyes flicker back to the mirror's surface, and she cannot contain a small chuckle. "The ninja doesn't appear to be feeling comfortable."

"Indeed," Fei Wang mutters under his breath, his thoughts clearly elsewhere as he raises the goblet once more to his lips. "Indeed..."

——————————

After what felt like an eternity to Kurogane, the girl finally drew away from him, a slight frown marring her features. He blinked and nervously moistened his lips, still trying to get to grips with what had just happened. He was honestly having difficulty in breathing properly, as if she had managed to pull his heart away along with herself.

Her frown deepened as she touched two fingers to her lips. "You're not Kurogane," she said softly, her voice mirroring her disappointment and bewilderment.

"But of course he is!" Fay suddenly piped up as he emerged from the water, sopping wet, acting like his usual cheery self. "Who else would he be?"

She started violently and turned around in surprise. Her eyes took in the smiling blond (who didn't seem to mind the fact that he was completely wet), then slowly turned to a blushing Syaoran and an equally-red Sakura still hiding her face in her hands. The girl's gaze finally fell upon Mokona, who currently resembled a miserable waterlogged plush toy. She was positive none of them had been there a few seconds ago...

"But it's not him," she repeated more firmly, sounding somewhat confused, still wondering when the others had arrived. She turned back to Kurogane, pulling away from him slightly. "It's not you..."

Kurogane couldn't help but feel his heart sink at her statement, and land like a stone in his stomach when she began to draw back from him even more than before.

Fay's brow wrinkled as he watched her struggle to explain herself. "How can you tell if it's him or not?" he asked gently.

"By... the kiss," she replied faintly. Her downcast eyes revealed that she regretted acting so frivolously in her excitement. "Who... who are you?" she asked Kurogane tentatively. Her eyes took in his leather armor, his long, black cloak, and his sword strapped at his side.

Kurogane tried to clear his throat, which had suddenly gone dry for some odd reason or other, but when he opened his mouth all he managed was a feeble croak.

"It's a bit complicated," Fay smoothly intervened with an understanding smile, "but I'm sure we'll be able to clear things up with a few explanations."

Her eyes flitted back to the wizard, a slight frown creeping upon her face again as she took in his outlandish garb.

"Well then, Tomoyo-chan—if you allow me to call you so—do you believe in the existence of other worlds?"

"How do you know my name?" she asked in surprise.

Fay smiled slowly and knelt down, extending his hand to her courteously. "Does this mean I have your undivided attention?"

——————————

Some time later found Tomoyo staring avidly at the foursome (five including Mokona) with one eyebrow slightly raised. Her eyes skimmed over each of them, noting their heavily-contrasting appearances and clothes. Compared to her modest blue-colored cotton yukata and her thick violet shawl, their clothing was outrageous.

"So... you're all from other worlds..." she said slowly, her eyes lingering momentarily upon Kurogane's back before she quickly averted her gaze. "And you're on a quest to find memory fragments in the form of feathers."

"To make a long story short," Fay offered wryly, warming his hands before the small fire they had lit when the sun had begun to climb down. "I don't think I could have summed it up better myself!"

"I see," she murmured, her brow wrinkling in thought. In any other situation, Tomoyo would have never had cause to believe such preposterous tales. Who in their right mind would believe something so ludicrous? But under the circumstances... she had no choice _but_ to believe. The proof was right there in front of her eyes.

Her eyes drifted toward Fay, who was smiling at her kindly, encouragingly, and she couldn't help but think that he _did_ look like a wizard, with a somewhat regal bearing about him. The others, too, looked different than most people. Sakura's beautiful emerald-green eyes (Tomoyo caught herself wondering if they would match the cream-colored silk she had in mind) looked like they were missing that something more, and Syaoran looked like he, too, was somehow incomplete. And Mokona was certainly the confirmation of their wild tale! She had never seen such an adorable creature before! The thought made her giggle.

"I believe you," she found herself saying, grinning at them eagerly. "I still don't really understand how it's possible, but I do."

"Wonderful!" Fay chirped happily. "We've never really told anyone about our mission from the start before, but considering the way things progressed here, a proper explanation was definitely what you needed, right, Tomoyo-chan?"

Tomoyo's eyes flickered back to Kurogane's hunched form and she nearly bit on her lower lip, but she managed to refrain from doing so the last second. "Yes," she said quickly. "And I really appreciate the fact that you took so much time to explain the situation to me."

"Aw, shucks, it was nothing!" Fay chuckled, waving his hand airily. "It's the least of our worries!"

"Precisely," Syaoran agreed. "What matters now is to the find the feather in this world." He turned to the small white creature perched upon his shoulder. "Do you feel the feather, Mokona?"

Mokona's ears flicked and became taut as it tried to focus its concentration upon sensing the feather. "I can feel it, but it's very faint," it finally reported after several moments of silence. "It feels like it's being shielded by some sort of force-field," it added, getting back to warming its tail near the fire.

"A force-field?" Syaoran repeated. "What kind of force-field?"

"A magical one, no doubt," Fay mused slowly. "If Mokona can still sense the feather's vibes through the force-field, however faint they are, then it's only a matter of finding out who or what cast this cloaking spell to retrieve the feather." He smiled brightly. "Something similar to what happened in Rekoruto, actually. Remember the bookcase hiding the entrance to the cave where the feather was hidden?"

"But even if we disabled the defences protecting the feather, wouldn't it cause an uproar?" Sakura wondered. "It wasn't exactly easy to escape the guards that time in Rekoruto, remember?"

Fay snorted with laughter. "I hardly think we'll be hunted down like common criminals, Sakura-chan!"

"Oh!" Tomoyo suddenly exclaimed, unable to restrain herself any longer, clasping a hand to her cheek. "That's such a beautiful name!" She turned to Sakura, her eyes lighting up excitedly. "It really suits you!"

"Er... thank you," Sakura said hastily, not exactly sure what to expect next. Although this Tomoyo was certainly different from the one she had met in Piffle, her sudden shriek of delight made Sakura unconsciously think about sparkles and dresses.

"Could I call you Sakura-chan, too? Unless you don't want me to, of course," she added quickly. "I do realize we've just met and it would probably be awkward for you, but I feel as if I've known you my whole life. I don't know how to explain it, but that's how I feel."

"Certainly!" Sakura assured her brightly. "And could I call you Tomoyo-chan, as well?"

"But of course you can! There's no need for you to ask!"

"I'm glad about that," Sakura giggled. She felt wonderful that she was finally going to have a friend again.

"But you know, those clothes don't suit you at all," Tomoyo continued, eyeing her critically. Sakura's clothes were soiled with the accumulation of mud and dirt caused by travelling for months on end without hardly ever even getting a chance to properly clean her garments. And because of the chilly weather, Fay had relinquished his large white parka to her to keep warm. Not a good combination for someone like Tomoyo. "I'd really love to make you something to wear! Something more elegant, and definitely warmer! What do you think about that?"

"Well... I suppose if you really want to..." Sakura consented tentatively. "As long as it's not too much trouble for you!" she added hastily.

"You don't have to worry about that! It won't be any trouble at all!" Tomoyo clasped her hands together excitedly, her eyes dancing with stars. "I know just the thing you need! It's going to be magnificent!"

Sakura giggled weakly, her suspicions finally being confirmed, whereas Syaoran sweat-dropped and Kurogane's mouth dropped open in disbelief. Mokona began sniggering heartily on Fay's shoulder at the others' reactions.

"My, my, Sakura-chan and Tomoyo-chan are always so cute when they smile like this together, no matter what world we go to!" Fay grinned.

Tomoyo pursed her lips and looked up at the star-strewn sky, tapping her chin with a forefinger, immersed in her fantasies. "I have a beautiful bolt of cream-colored silk," she mused. "It would look perfect with your eyes." Her eyes lingered momentarily upon the full moon and she drew in her breath sharply. "Oh, my goodness!" she gasped, springing to her feet. "I'm terribly late!"

"Going so soon?" Fay blinked in surprise and looked up at the moon himself.

"It's nearly midnight," she explained. "Oh, dear... everyone's probably worried sick! I really should be heading back before the entire village starts looking for me... I'll try to come back here early tomorrow morning with much warmer clothes for all of you, though." She hesitated slightly. "But..." She looked down timidly, her eyes momentarily lingering upon Kurogane's scowling face before quickly looking away. "He's been missing for almost a week now..." she whispered faintly. "Even his companions at the dojo have started to search for him..."

"For Kurogane-san?" Syaoran guessed.

Tomoyo nodded faintly. She suddenly straightened and squared her shoulders. "I've taken up too much of your time already. I'm truly sorry. I really should be going." She turned to leave, even though there was no way for her to scale the sides of the hills by herself. But she'd make the attempt, if only to escape from those crimson eyes.

"What's your story, anyway?"

Tomoyo froze in her tracks and turned, albeit a little hesitantly.

Kurogane had gotten to his feet, his arms crossed over his chest. He hadn't spoken a word all evening, but, apparently, he could not remain silent any longer. "You're worried," he said bluntly, his look so piercing that Tomoyo felt as if her mind had just been penetrated. "There's obviously more to this than meets the eye." However, his gaze didn't quite meet hers anymore with his next words. "Is he... someone important in this world?"

Tomoyo's lips formed a small and somewhat apologetic smile, but she offered no explanation. The only answer she gave him was in her eyes, which mirrored a rather nostalgic emotion in their violet depths as their gazes locked together.

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**To Be Continued **

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**A/N: **End of Chapter 1. Will be continued in Chapter 2!

**StarSparklez: **BWAHAHAHAHA! Finally! The chapter's finished! _—faints—_

**Mystic Dawn: **_—casually slapping Star awake— _You know, people, Star actually thought up of the clearing. She decided how it would be like, while I pulled off a miraculous description of it! Gee, ain't it great the way I write? _—is totally snobbish in her pride—_

**StarSparklez: **Yeah, she did. _—mumbles— _She only butchered it two or three times before it was anything like a waterfall should be but... I'm not complaining... much. I'll do that on our LiveJournal! However, there _is_ one thing I'll do now.

—_silence—_

**StarSparklez: **Mwahahahaha...!

—_evil laugh turns hysterical and she is soon joined by Fay, who clutches at his stomach, gasping for air, rolling on the floor next to her—_

**Kurogane:** ...

**Mystic Dawn:** Now, now, children, don't make so much fun of him! _—tries to hold back evil chuckles— _We're not quite done with him yet!

**Fay:** Oh, and this story looked so serious from the prologue, too!

**StarSparklez:**_ —explodes— _BWAHAHAHAHAHA—!

**Kurogane:** ...**  
**

**Mystic Dawn:** Now, now, don't —_pfff_— stop! I-I mean, be serious!

**StarSparklez:** Yes, yes. _—sobers up—_ Seriously now, let's think of an intelligent question for this chapter.

**Fay:** Hmm... _—fake pondering expression, finger between eyebrows— _I really am still wondering as to how Tomoyo-chan was able to tell Kuro-pon wasn't her Kuro-pon.

**StarSparklez:**_ —concentrating with two fingers pressed on either side of her head— _Hmm... yes, good question. Well, either he was too unresponsive or... not all Kuro-piis taste alike, you know?

**Mystic Dawn:** ZOMG, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA—!

—_StarSparklez and Fay exchange looks and resume laughing their heads off together—_

**Kurogane:** ...

—_after everyone calms down—_

**Mystic Dawn:** Oh, Fay, you were such a gentleman during this chapter! _—grins—_

**StarSparkez:** Oh, yes, go ahead, Fay, darling! Show Kuro how one deals with ladies who practically jump to throw themselves at you! XD

**Fay:** I'm surprised we're really not getting any reaction from Kuro-tako for this chapter.

**Mystic Dawn:** I told ya it would shut him up!

**StarSparklez:**_ —squints—_ Are you sure you've removed the duct tape?

**Mystic Dawn:** Of course I'm sure! It made a very satisfying ripping sound as it came off!

**Kurogane:** ...

**Fay:** I guess we'll just have to wait for his reaction in next chapter's A/N, won't we?

**StarSparklez:** Well, I hope so! He's not fun to torture when he doesn't react angrily!

**Mystic Dawn:** Yes, I do hope he's re-usable.

**Fay:** Until next chapter then, folks, neh?

**Mystic Dawn:** Sayonara! Don't forget to leave us a nice review! Oh, and we're available for more comments and questions on this story on our LiveJournal! The address is _**mysticsparklez(dot)livejournal(dot)com**._ That's all!

**StarSparklez:** Insert the linkie in your browsers! Hear us rant about our ficcie more! Encourage us to write! Spread ideas! Bye bye!

**Mystic Dawn:** Till next time! ;)


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